


Repressed Thoughts

by orphan_account



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abusive Relationship, Abusive Repression, Agressive Remus Sanders, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attacks, Blood, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Manipulation, Manipulative Repression, Morally Grey Remus Sanders, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Episode: Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, Psychological Torture, Slow Burn, Swearing, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Torture, Violence, Violent Remus Sanders, sexual innuendo, violent behavior
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-07-27 11:31:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20045293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After "Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts", Remus is even more present in the mindscape. When Thomas has a creative outburst, a long-gone Dark Side comes around to put Roman’s twin in his place once Deceit can’t make it.Things go even more wrong, and Deceit and Roman now must work together to convince Patton that his brother, Repression, is not what he seems and find Remus before Thomas’ mind starts to fall apart.





	1. Brothership

**Author's Note:**

> [If there are any tags that I forgot to add, please warn me!]
> 
> Look who's doing a multiple chapter story instead of making her own AU :')
> 
> This idea appeared in my head while I was seeing some theories about the next side, and I know that I wouldn't forget about it until I could write it.
> 
> I don't really know where I gonna go with this, but it's going to be fun.
> 
> \- Adrian Sanders is Repression, he's an original character created by me and he's going to be Patton's older brother (I'll explain about it in the story). He's not going to appear that much though, but he's going at least be mentioned in each chapter.  
\- This story is going to be Deceit and Roman-centered, but all the other sides are going to appear eventually and have their moment on this. An example is this chapter.  
\- The warnings that are tagged are going to happen at some point, and I may put other tags as the story goes on. So always look at the tags when a chapter comes out!  
\- The first chapter is kinda a prologue/introduction to situate the new character and his relation with Patton.
> 
> I hope you guys have fun!

**[Arc 1: “Creative Outburst” – The Beginning]**

* * *

_(“Yeah repression can be… Very bad, indeed.”)_

Patton sat in one of the kitchen chairs, sighing. It was past midnight, but he couldn’t sleep.

He was feeling like crap.

_(“No, you guys aren't understanding me. They would stay in Thomas' head because he would pretend like he never had the thoughts in the first place!”_

_“So… We’re back to repression then? Logan said that that doesn’t work!”_

_“That’s what repression is?!”)_

He put his hands in his head, trying to forget. It had been a week, but he couldn’t forget anything about that day.

Not with Remus walking around, doing and saying things to everyone around him.

But Roman’s twin wasn’t the cause of his insomnia.

_(“I didn't realize… what an impossible standard I've been setting.”)_

_(“-he's committed to skipping a big callback-“)_

Patton was _hurting_ Thomas without even knowing that. He thought that he was doing what was best for him, but he was wrong.

If everything that he thought that was morally right was wrong – if almost everything that he _is and believes_ was wrong, what’s he supposed to do?

“Maybe I should just go,” he whispered to himself.

“Go to sleep? I agree. It is three in the morning, Patton, you should not damage your sleeping schedule.”

Patton almost jumped off the chair at the voice behind him. He tried to dry his tears as faster as possible.

“Logan I- I thought you would be working,“ his voice got out slightly weak, but he hoped that Logan wouldn’t notice. He got up, turning around.

Patton’s eyes widened when he saw that it wasn’t Logan right there.

The other side gave a small laugh.

“I appreciate being related to the smart man himself, Pat.”

“Repression? What are you doing here?”

The side, wearing an orange trench coat, white t-shirt and black jeans, loosened the orange tie around his neck, giving Patton an eyebrow raise before sitting on the edge of the table.

“You sound _so happy_ to see me. Didn’t miss your older brother?” He opened his arms for a second, crossing them afterward. Patton felt a strange feeling at the way that the other used the word _brother_. “I’m also a part of Thomas if you remember. I never left. Not really.”

“But- you were never around the mindscape before.”

“Neither did Remus.”

Patton looked confused, then a realization hit him, followed by confusion. “I thought Deceit was the one to take care of him.”

“I don’t trust that snake,” Repression said briefly, not looking at the other. “But that’s not relevant now. The relevant point is: You should sleep. Thomas needs you at your best.”

The light side gave a small laugh.

“I don’t even know what’s my best anymore. I mean, look at everything that happened. Deceit, then Remus. It’s all my fault and I couldn’t see that. I was blind by my morals and now I don’t even know what’s right or wrong anymore! I don’t even know if I know who I am really…”

The words slipped from Patton’s mouth before he could even think – that always happened when he was near his brother. It was like nothing could be hidden away from him.

Repression sighed, walking towards the moral side. He put his hands in Patton’s cheeks, smiling at him.

“You, Patton, are Thomas’ morality and feelings. You are the kindest and most trustworthy of the sides. And even if you don’t know everything, you always try your best,” he paused, “and you are the best brother ever, Pat.”

Patton looked him with wide eyes, before hugging the other side.

“Thank you, Adrian,” he said, face buried in his brother’s shoulder.

Repression – Adrian – looked up, seeing Deceit at the kitchen’s door. The deceitful side looked at him with an unhappy face, and he seemed even more upset with the smiled that the Leader of the Dark Sides gave him before Deceit could sink out.

“Anytime Patton. Anytime.”


	2. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deceit is trying to figure out how Patton could be so innocent about things, but he ends up being... Interrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [If I forgot any tags/warnings, please tell me! And don't forget to read the tags, since I can end up adding new tags as the story goes on.]  
[Construct criticism is always appreciated!]
> 
> This chapter was faster than I expected, oh boi. I think I just really got into the story, heh.  
So, as almost every story that I write, the angst is already here! Time to our favorite snake make his full appearance - but I have the feeling that he wished otherwise. Oh well.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> [TW: This chapter contains descriptions of violence and mentions of torture, torture (psychological and physical), there's also some Violent/Aggressive Remus, some Violent/Aggressive/Manipulative Repression/Adrian, and kinda panic/anxiety attacks and mental breakdown. You were advised.]

Deceit was walking in circles with heavy steps, mind racing. He couldn’t figure out how Patton could be so naïve – It was so obvious that Adrian wasn’t the “nicest brother in the world” that he faked be, how could the moral side not see that?

He wanted to say something, but no one would believe him. _Of course they wouldn’t._

And Adrian would come for him, Deceit knew that. The Leader was reckless, and his dominance over other sides was something that not even Deceit could explain.

He couldn’t even be shut up by his powers.

The line of thought was broken when a loud sound was heard in the subconscious. The ground shook and Deceit didn’t have to think much about what it was before hearing something slamming on his door.

_“Hey, little snake-”_ Remus hummed from the outside, _“come see what I can do! It’s going to be a fun time!”_

Deceit’s eyes widened.

_“And if you don’t come out, I can just come in!”_

It has begun.

**[Four hours later]**

Everything was like hell.

Deceit knew how bad it was to deal with Remus when Thomas was under a creative outburst, of course he knew, but that was _something else_.

With Thomas' acknowledging the existence of Remus and his influence, the creations of the green side were almost_ everywhere_ in the mindscape. It was even possible that some of those… _things_ had been able to enter the Imagination – a highly protected part of Thomas’ mind, thanks to Roman and Patton’s effort.

And that was just the first portion of the problem.

Remus wasn’t just making ideas physical. He was messing with everyone's mind and body in _every_ opportunity that he had – the deceitful side wasn’t even able to shut him up in this state, Remus was too powerful. The walls in the subconscious were dark, but Deceit could still see the blood on them.

_His blood._

He stumbled down the hall, trying to make to his own room. His whole being was aching, inside and outside. The scaled side of his face was red, blood dripping down from the wounds.

Remus had _ripped off_ some of his scales with a knife. At that moment, Deceit just wanted to be able to scream, but his voice was also gone.

_“Where are you, little snake?”_

_No, no, no- Not again-_

The door to his room has not much far, but Deceit could already see Remus on the other side of the corridor. Sink out wasn’t an option – he was too weak to even be able to do that.

So he turned around, trying to go somewhere else.

_Everything became too quiet._

Deceit didn’t have time to react. Something reached him, catching his arms and slamming him in the wall, taking the breath out of his lungs, making him grunt in pain.

Remus looked at him with a twisted smile.

_“There you are.”_

He wanted to scream, to run away, but he was frozen in place. The blood in his veins felt even colder and Deceit thought that no one could even recognize him with that behavior.

But Remus was in a full _daydream mode_. And he saw that happen before. He had reasons to be terrified.

A burning pain started running through his whole body. He could feel Remus' fingers in his back, trying to cut through the skin and reach somewhere, and Deceit wanted to know how he didn’t have passed out when he felt the blood start to flow and the skin fracture under the other’s grip. Every single thing outside and inside him was hurting, and he was starting to have thoughts about things that he didn’t want to think about – there were screams and fear and something wanting to split inside him.

Deceit tried to push the other side away, but he didn’t have any strength to do that. He was exhausted.

Steps were heard.

“Remus, can you stop hurting your friend?”

Deceit didn’t know if Repression's voice was a hallucination, but before he could try to look he felt the fingers getting out of his skin, making him close his eyes in pain, stopping the tears to fall.

His legs failed him, and more pain came when his knees hit the ground.

“Oh fuck off,” Remus complained, looking at his blood-covered fingers. “We are just, well, having fun, right Dee?”

Deceit heard steps towards him, and soon he was being lifted from the ground, but not in a kind way – Repression was there, holding him and looking at him with unfriendliness. The deceitful side could see that Adrian's face was different, the facade of the “good guy” going away, the pair of glasses in his face not hiding the circular purple mark – that he couldn’t tell if it was from a punch or not – around his left eye, neither the scar in his bottom lip.

The Dark Side looked more raged and emotionless than the time he was with Patton.

“Go find something else to play with, Remus,” he ordered, not letting go of Deceit’s arm.

“But-“

“Don’t disobey me, _Half_-_Creativity_.”

Deceit snapped his head up at the allusion, seeing Remus take a step back, looking offended and almost hurt, staring at Deceit with wrath before sinking out.

Then he was thrown on the ground again.

“Useless.”

Repression looked down at him. “You said you would take care of Remus. He seems taken care of to you?”

The deceitful side tried to speak, but his vocal cords were too hurt for that.

“…You can’t even talk. That’s _delightful_.”

Adrian lowered himself, making Deceit flinch at the proximity. He stared at his _leader_, not knowing what to do.

The other side laughed.

“Your time with Roman really made you a coward. That… ‘Friendship' is going to be your death.” Repression stood up, adjusting his glasses. “Get out of the corridor, you’re just making it dirty. Oh, and I hope that I don’t have to intercede between both of you again. Because I won’t. It’s not like they’re gonna miss you anyway.”

Deceit watched from the ground as the other side started to walk away from him.

But Adrian stopped at the very end of the hall, looking over his shoulder.

“I will give you one more chance, Deceit. Better be worth it.” He heard him from afar before the other side got out of his vision.

It took several minutes to Deceit even be able to drag himself to his room. He was glad that the door was already unlocked, so he just pushed himself inside, closing the door behind him and making some more effort to lock it.

He stood there, making sure that he was safe. Then, he let himself break.

Tears started to run down, and Deceit could feel his throat burning, vocal cords unable to sound his sobs. His whole body was shaking, aching, and soon he was on the ground again, hugging himself like he could make the pain disappear with that.

He didn’t care if he was still bleeding. He didn’t care if he could suffer from blood loss.

_He was weak. _

_Useless. _

_Coward._

_He would make everyone a favor letting himself die._

“Hey, Dee! Adrian said you and Remus had a fight, is everything- _Deceit?!_”

Deceit closed his eyes, not wanting to look at Roman. He didn’t want anyone to see this and now _he_ was there, in front of him.

_Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes-_

Deceit flinched when the fanciful side picked him up, almost falling from his arms. His eyes were still closed and he couldn’t stop crying.

“I- I’ll take you to Logan, he- he'll know what to do, yeah. Just- Stay with me here,” Roman said carefully, preparing to sink out, “can you do that, can you stay awake, please?”

Deceit tried to talk again, but he gave up and just nodded. He gripped Roman’s clothes, burying his face on his shoulder, body still trembling and tears still falling.

“Alright, just- Hang tight, we’re going to sink out now. You’ll be fine. I- I promise.”

Everything was still hurting and he couldn’t breathe right, but he knew that Roman wasn’t lying.

He just desired that he could make his own words true and stay awake, but the creative side's arms were just too warm, and the pain was just too much, and soon Deceit couldn’t help but let his mind drift away.

Sleeping or passing out, it didn’t matter for him. He just wanted to go away.

Go away and forget everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor snake- at least a Prince came to rescue him in the end  
As you guys can tell, next chapter we're gonna see the smartest side make his entrance (I hope I don't make him too out of character :p)  
And yes, it's going to have a lot of OOC things. I just can't help it.
> 
> Well, it's time to go. See y'all in the next chapter!
> 
> [Any support given to a writer is as important as any support given to other types of artists, always remember that! Oh, and don't forget to just be nice with them :)]


	3. Want and Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Days passed, and Roman was becoming more and more stressed.  
He had reasons, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, that took a long time!  
Sorry everyone, but this is my last year on school and everything was so rushed - is still a little bit - that I couldn't put my head to write something until now. Sorry again!  
This chapter is a bridge to some stuff that's going to happen and is also introducing some guys around.   
Hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> [Chapter Warning: Remus mention, but 'kinda' briefly.]  
(Also, here's gonna have the "Implied Analogical" that's said on the tags. You can see it as platonic, romantic, brotherly, anything! Deceit and Roman both have their interpretations of V and L's relationship, but you can imagine their relationship the way you want to!)

Roman never thought that he could be so stressed in all his existence. Of course, there were moments like that before, but this was when he and Remus were still one. When Thomas’ career was just starting, and he was scared of the chance of failure.

But pacing around his room with Deceit’s body lying on the bed, unconscious, was as stressful as that time.

Especially considering the fact that he was doing that for _days_.

The deceitful side hasn’t opened his eyes since the moment that the Prince had found him, injured like he just got out from a warzone. At first, Roman had got both of them to Logan’s room, in the hope that the logical side could be able to do something.

After two days, Logan was able to help Deceit’s corpse heal fully, but he was still not waking up, so Roman decided to take him to his room, letting the deceitful side on his bed.

Sleeping on the armchair that he created beside the bed wasn’t the worst part, actually, especially because he wasn’t able to fall asleep properly – the thoughts of what his brother had done to Deceit keeping him alert, fearing that Remus would just break-in into the Imagination, into his room, reach Deceit and…

He shook his head, keeping these thoughts away.

“And even though having the ability to create a proper bed to yourself, I still find you in this armchair. It is, indeed, impressive how much you want to break your own body.”

Roman turns his head, trying to smile (and failing) when he sees the side walking towards him. He ignores the last comment, nothing that a discussion about the matter would just lead to another pointless fight. Instead, he just greets him. “Hey Logan.”

The logical side just nods, and there’s a brief silence afterward, where they stare at each other, like someone is waiting for something to happen. A sensation passes through Roman’s senses, but the ignores it. He knows what it is, he knows the questions hanging between him and Logan, but he keeps it inside, hoping his doubts would go away.

(It doesn’t, but he still ignores it.)

But soon the silent environment is ripped apart by Logan, that’s now walking towards the bed, looking at the deceitful side.

“He had not woken up while I was absent, I suppose.” When Roman shakes his head, he thinks that the logical side hadn’t seen it, eyes locked on Deceit. The Prince feels something sting at the way that Logan looks at him. “Thomas is still able to tell a falsehood, so Dee—Deceit is not comatose. But he is also lacking the skill to do it properly, so I suppose that his long asleep state is not natural.”

Roman ignores the slip-up, but not before it stings again.

(Ignorance is a bliss, and Roman wishes he had enough of that.)

He puts the thoughts away, focusing on the conversation. “Do you think something, or someone, is keeping him this way?”

“It is not impossible. Do you know if your brother has the ability to do such thing?”

The fanciful side shakes his head once more, and Logan just goes quiet, this time sitting on the edge of the bed. His eyes go back to Deceit, and this time Roman’s mouth is faster than his brain.

“Hey Logan… Just, uh, curiosity here, do you have, like–”

_“He’s still turned off?”_

Roman stops his question when Virgil comes in, and he’s quite thankful for the interruption.

It was a dumb question, anyway.

“He is not a computer, Virgil,” Logan points out, ignoring the former dark side’s amused smile, “Deceit is stable, but still unconscious.”

“I hate to admit it, but I hope he can wake up soon. This whole situation is making me anxious– more than average.”

Virgil’s arms are crossed at his chest, but the tensed shoulders can be easily seen.

Roman raises an eyebrow. “Are you good?”

Logan gets up, walking towards the anxious side, worried hidden in his face – not _really_ hidden. “Do you need any assistance?”

“No, I– I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” He moves, a hand hiding in his jacket while the other rubs the back of his neck, the tension in his shoulders increasing for no apparent reason.

They stare at each other, and Roman keep his eyebrow raised, watching from the small distance. He should really say something to relieve the tension (_the specific type of tension_, he thinks) running in the room–

“Ugh, you two _don’t_ go get a room. This sexual tension is _really_ what I wanted to see while waking up.”

Their eyes snap towards the bed, seeing the deceitful side rubbing his eyes, sitting on the bed and fully awake.

_Awake._

Roman almost sighs in relief, and he's glad that he’s sitting – his legs were feeling like feathers from the sensation settling in his chest. _His friend was awake._

But he gathers his inner strength, getting up, and approaches the bed, sitting on the edge. He wants to say how he feels about seeing him awake, about seeing him like _that_ days ago. He wants to say how much he’s sorry for his brother’s actions and that he regrets not caring enough about his friend.

But he says, instead, “How're the wounds?”

“_Not_ better. I still feel _great_, though,” he shrugs, voice low and weak, his eyes getting off Roman to look at the rest of the room, “Hello, Logan. And Hello, Virgil.”

While Logan just gives him a nod, Virgil doesn’t really look at Deceit, the hand at his neck lowering to hug his left arm, a low “hey,” almost not heard.

For a second, Roman preferred the other tension in the room.

“I assume that you _didn’t_ come to see me.”

There’s a tone in the obvious lie that makes Roman want to speak up, but he keeps his mouth shut, suppressing the urge.

“It’s just–” he pauses, uncomfortable, “Thomas needs you– And don’t give me that smile, I’m not agreeing with anything here! I still don’t like you.”

Roman almost laughs at the situation now, having to bite his lower lip, and Deceit gives him an unknown look before focusing on Virgil again. “You sure don’t.”

“Shut up,” he rolls his eyes, deciding to look at Logan instead, “I’ll go tell Pat that he’s awake. ‘Wanna come with me?”

Logan looks at Roman, that gives him a nod. “Alright. If you need anything regarding your physical condition, Deceit, please let me aware. And Roman,” he gives the fanciful side a strange look, “I will still need to talk with you.”

Roman nods again, slower this time. Then they’re gone.

Now there’s just the two of them.

_Great._

Not that Roman doesn’t want to be there – he knows Deceit for a long time now – but this… Feels different.

Every situation with his brother involved feels different. In a bad way.

“How long?” Deceit’s voice puts him out of his thoughts, and he realizes by the other's face that it was a repeated question.

_Five days, fifteen hours, thirty-two minutes–_ “A couple of days.”

“The outburst–“

“It’s over now. Adrian kept Remus inside the Subconscious, and I cleaned the Imagination with Patton. Everything is normal.”

There was an odd look in Deceit’s eyes, and he made the next question with almost disbelief, “Adrian took care of him… Alone?”

“I mean, that’s what he told us— Wait, wait, what are you doing—”

Roman gets up at the same time that Deceit does, rushing to the other side of the bed. The deceitful side takes a step back when Roman tries to get closes, and he feels hurt for the third time, but now for a whole new reason.

“Please, go back to bed Dee,” his voice breaks, fearing that the other will just collapse on the ground.

“Let me go, Roman.”

“What? You— You’re still hurt! Not physically maybe, but still—”

“I’m fine—”

**“Stop lying.”**

Deceit almost takes another step back, and even Roman was startled by the tone of his voice.

It felt... Weird.

But before he could think about it, Deceit had passed him already, going to the door. He couldn’t stop him, he knew that.

He tried, anyway.

“I don’t want you to go.”

The deceitful side stops, looking at him with wide eyes.

Roman continues, in a rush now, “You don’t know how I felt seeing you almost _dead_. You almost died and I wouldn’t know if you did! My brother is still out there, and I know that maybe we’re not really friends—” He ignores the odd look at Deceit’s face. “Just, please, stay here— I need to have sure you’re safe, and I just can make that when I'm looking at you. The others can take care of it. I just want— need you here.”

“You want me here, but you don’t need me here,” he starts, repeating Roman in the beginning, cutting him before he can try to speak, “and I— I need to be there.”

There’s a moment, a very brief and quiet moment, where Roman can almost hear himself — or maybe it’s just his heart — break inside:

When the door shuts from the outside and he is left alone.

When Deceit leaves him, _again_, for something “more important”— for someone that is not him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this story is a "slow burn" for a reason-
> 
> I really hope that I can write the next chapter faster, since it's going to be, probably, the end of the Introduction Arc (so it's going to be a long one), but let's see if school work is gonna alow me :')
> 
> [Warning/Little spoiler for the next chapter: Remus and Adrian are coming back. And, of course, the angst too.]


	4. Repress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deceit searches for Remus.  
Roman comes to a realization.  
Adrian makes his move.  
And Remus...
> 
> Where's Remus?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Inspiration hit me strong this week, heh!  
This is the longest chapter so far (2k words? maybe more?), so it's okay if you need to take a little break while reading!
> 
> [An important thing about Italic and Bold parts of the chapters:  
Flashbacks in this chapter appear fully in italic. Thoughts during the rest of the chapter appear in italic. Deceit's lies in the flashbacks appear italic and bold. Deceit's lies outside flashbacks appear in italic only.]
> 
> [Chapter Warnings: Remus and Repression apparitions. Kinda has sexual innuendo towards the end.]

Deceit felt his body hurt, but he didn’t stop the fast pacing. He shouldn’t have slept for so long and now everything is _wrong_.

His mind was racing, trying to figure out what happened while he was out. Of course, his “blackout” was Adrian’s doing, probably not allowing him to wake up, but something in his gut said that it wasn’t just that.

Something was happening. Or maybe it already did.

He also couldn’t take the tone in Roman’s voice out of his mind. First the harsh “_stop lying_”, at the same time that he saw the Prince’s eyes flash with an orange glow. Deceit knew that Adrian could make the sides **do** things unconsciously, especially if it was things that they were suppressing to themselves but make them say something… It was just too much.

Then, Roman went and tried to make him stay, saying all those things to him. And Deceit almost believed it – he could _feel_ that the fanciful was telling the truth.

If it wasn’t for the everlasting presence of that orange glow in his eyes.

He felt his throat burn at the thought of those words, but he didn’t have time to think about it. Things were more important at the moment, and he couldn’t waste time, not anymore.

So, he took another deep breath, and despise the hurting – not just physical – he runs.

* * *

_ “C’ mon Dee, is gonna be fun!”_

_Deceit rolled his eyes, looking amused at both Feelings and Creativity. “I really need to do it?”_

_“Yes you do!” The one in royal clothes started to drag him by his hand. “Look, Pat is gonna be the fairy, little storm cloud there—” he points out to Anxiety, who gives him an exasperated look, “is gonna be the evil stepmother, and I’m the prince! We need the protag— prot— anyway, we need the Cinderella!”_

_“Why can’t you call Logic?” He tried one last tried, knowing that Creativity was the closest to Logic – after Deceit himself._

_“Because Lo doesn’t like this stuff… And cause I like you more, duh.” The young side averted his gaze, flustered, realizing that Creativity had not let go of his hand. “Please Dee?”_

_Deceit sighed, a small smile appearing in his mouth. “Right. But just this time!”_

_He couldn’t help but smile when both sides celebrated his decision._

_Childhood wasn’t so bad, at least._

* * *

Adrian loosened his tie and adjusted his glasses, looking at the mirror. The shapeshifting ability helped to hide the scars and marks – a common thing between the Dark Sides was the presence of something to make them physically distant from Thomas, _like that would make him a better person, hah_ – but he could still feel then there.

He heard the knock on his door, opening it with a wave of a hand. “Come in, Remus,” he ordered, seeing the green side join the room.

It was almost funny how Remus would become calmer around him – a consequence of his fear of Adrian, but that wasn’t relevant.

“Soo… ya need me?” He weirdly cocked his head, jumping on the bed and sitting in the middle of it. “I dunno what Dee told ya, but it wasn’t me—” He pauses, looking to the ceiling. “—Maybe.”

Adrian just laughs. “Don’t worry, nothing happened.”

“So?”

“You, Remus, are my favorite twin, you know that. I have to admit that your outburst in the other week, even though a little extreme, was kinda fun to watch.”

Remus just stared at him, quiet. It was his way to be confused.

Adrian adjusted his glasses once more. “You know what? Let’s talk somewhere else,” his suggestive tone was enough to make the other’s eyes lit up.

“Oooh, you have something for me! Where’s it—where’s it—where’s it?”

The creative side was already on his feed, after jumping off the bed. Adrian walked towards the door, looking at him. “Follow me.”

Remus did.

* * *

_“You can’t be serious!” _

_“Look, I know it’s hard to understand, but it’s necessary—”_

_“I don’t care if it’s necessary! It’s wrong!”_

_Deceit walked towards the others, confused. Creativity and Feelin—Morality were arguing something, the former clearly angry with the latter. Logic and Anxiety were also there but keeping some distance._

_Repression and the Others were nowhere to be seen. Probably not even personified. Yet._

_“What’s happening here?”_

_Creativity snapped, still not looking at him. “Tell him, Patton, if you’re so sure of what you’re doing!”_

_“I’m not—” he shook his head, turning to Deceit with sad eyes, “Thomas is… Learning some new things and...” he paused, looking away. “He wants to be a good person so…”_

_“Morality, be simple.”_

_“Thomas wants to separate us and throw you guys out. Here, said it,” Creativity snapped again, crossing his arms._

_“…Separate?”_

_“He just wants to be a good person—” Morality started, looking hurt, and Creativity finished: “—And to that happen he thinks that having all of us is not necessary to help him.”_

_Deceit felt something bad inside him, and for a second, he was afraid to ask. But he did anyway, “who are the ones that he wants to stay?”_

_“Me, Patton and Logan.”_

_He felt his body heavy, his throat closing, and he chocked out the words, “he wants to get rid of us?”_

_“No, no, no— That’s not it!” Morality waved his hand wildly, eyes wide. “You guys are just… Going to move to the subconscious. That’s it! You’re gonna still be around just— not so frequently.”_

_“Hiding.” Creativity corrected, eyes fixed on the grass of the Imagination._

_“Don’t make things worse, please— Look, this is not about us, it’s about Thomas! It’s what’s best for him!”_

_The royal side gave a dry laugh. “Oh, sure it is.”_

_“You’re just saying that cause you don’t want Dee to go,” Morality accused, impatient._

_“Now you think that’s all my fault—”_

_“We’re leaving.” _

_They looked at Deceit, surprised. He already had Anxiety by his side, even if the other was just hugging himself tightly, on the edge._

_ “Deceit, don’t—”_

_“**It’s** okay,” he lied, smiling at the creative side, “**We’re **going to be fine. It **wasn’t** better to be around. I’ll tell the others about it.”_

_Deceit holds Anxiety’s hand, walking towards the main corridors of the mindscape. He could see, in the distance, a Side with orange clothes, watching from afar._

_He refuses to let the tears fall._

* * *

Nothing.

The more Deceit walked – now too tired to run – less he could feel the presence of _anything_ inside the higher levers of the Subconscious. It was like an abandoned place.

He had already verified Adrian’s and Remus’ rooms, bursting inside, looking for a sign or clue or anything.

Nothing.

It was infuriating, walking around like a lost kid inside a supermarket, but he couldn’t give up now. He had to find something. Anything.

Then he saw a door in one of the others.

A new one.

Deceit walked towards it, seeing the door already open. Looking inside, everything was white and empty, and he felt confused.

Until the room starts to slowly change.

Things were appearing, and the walls were turning **pink**.

“No, no, no—” Deceit’s eyes widened, and he gave steps back until he was already back to the run.

He had to find Remus and Adrian. Immediately.

* * *

_“Called, Morality?”_

_“Yeah it’s— The King, he’s—”_

_“Split?”_

_“…”_

_“Why?”_

_“It was the best. For Thomas.”_

_Deceit looked to the twins in the distance, expressionless from outside. He could feel Morality’s presence over his shoulder._

_He didn’t need to know how’s he was feeling inside. He didn’t need to see his broken heart._

_“Who’s the one?”_

_Who’s the one I have to take to Adrian hide forever, rightful Morality?_

_“…Deceit—”_

_“I know why you called. There’s no need to waste time. Who’s the one?”_

_“…He’s in green clothes.”_

* * *

Reaching the limits of the upper levels of the Subconscious, he stopped at the sight of a giant black and orange door.

Deceit knew that down there was _something else_. An area in Thomas’ mind too dangerous and unknown to be walking around alone.

And that’s where Adrian and the Other’s full domain began.

He pounded at the door, frustrated, angry tears falling.

_He had let this happen. _

If he was better, nothing had happened. If he was better, Remus was still around, controlled and harmless, instead of an uncontrolled beast just because Deceit wanted to teach Thomas a lesson.

If he was better, the split had never happened. The separation had never happened.

If he was better, everything would be normal.

_Or if I never existed in the first place—_

Deceit shook his head, eyes wide at the realization of where the thought came from.

It was already here.

* * *

_“Dee?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“Why I can’t see my brother anymore? Why can’t I leave?”_

_“Because it’s the best for Thomas, and we don’t want to hurt him.”_

_“But splitting hurt.”_

_Deceit turned his head to the young boy beside him. “Do you remember that? Both of you?”_

_He nodded. “And everything before. Why Pat choose Roman, not me? What’s wrong?”_

_Everything._

_“Nothing is wrong, kid. It just how it is now. Patton just couldn’t take care of both. That’s all.”_

_Lies and lies, piled up forming a tower._

_Lies, that’s all he had become._

_Deceit. Now, literally._

_“But—”_

_“Go to sleep, Remus. Adrian is waiting.”_

_Waiting to make Thomas forget you forever, kid._

_“…Okay.”_

* * *

Roman was in the living room, at his usual stop, trying to solve another one of Thomas’ dilemmas with the other three, when he suddenly couldn’t feel his focus anymore.

Everything became too foggy, too far away from reach.

He could tell that the talking stopped, and heads were turned towards him. He stepped back, gripping the top of the TV to steady himself – and trying to not knock it on the ground together with him in the process.

Roman startled when everything came back at once, and everyone was looking at him with concern.

Patton stepped a little bit closer. “Kiddo? What’s happening?”

But Roman didn’t respond. He was looking at nowhere. Something was empty inside him, and the hollow feeling hurt.

“He—He's gone—”

“Who’s gone, kiddo?”

“My—My brother,” he finally looked at Patton, wide-eyed, before whispering:

“Remus is gone.”

* * *

_“Why there’s two of you, anyway?” Anxiety looked at them, eyebrow raised. “Repression and Deceit can be the same thing.”_

_Deceit opened his mouth but closed as soon as Repression stepped up, having just personified inside the room._

_“Because I take care of the unconscious part of Self-Deception, while he takes care of the conscious part. When a guy says to his friends that he broke up with a girl when it’s not true, that’s Deceit’s area. When a guy ends up forgetting that it was her that broke up, so he can’t tell that’s a lie, that’s me.”_

_Deceit wanted to laugh at Anxiety’s confused face._

_“Thomas forgot about Remus and that he had a former Creativity, so now he believes that the little Prince up there always existed. That was me. If he knew about him but pretended that Roman was the only Creativity around, that would be Deceit. Better?” Repression tried again, at that time Deceit was again expressionless._

_“Oh. Okay. But really, you guys could do the same job.”_

_“It’s better that way,” Deceit interjected, exasperated, “can we talk about something else now?”_

_Even though the subject changed, Deceit’s mind was somewhere else. Especially with the look in Repression’s eyes before he went away once more._

* * *

“Fuck, Adrian, didn’t need to push this hard, warn a dude next time—”

Remus sat up, looking around.

Everything was pitch dark and empty.

“…What the fuck? Adrian, where are you, asshole? Come back here!”

He looked up, but he couldn’t see where he fell from. _I’m really deep and I’m not even having sex, fuck._

But no matter who he called and how much he shouted, it was just him in that blankness.

Alone.

Forgotten.

Just like before. Just like it always has been.

* * *

_“_

_Oh, and I almost forgot. You know, everyone has their favorite twin…” Adrian started, behind Remus._

_ “—But you’re no one’s favorite.”_

_Then Remus was falling towards the darkness._

_Adrian smiled, looking below. “Don’t worry kid. Soon, they’ll forget you. Then, everything is going to be just like before.”_

_He adjusted his clothes, starting to walk out, talking and laughing to the nothing._

_ “Thomas doesn’t need you, Remus. Roman has always been the King, the true Creativity, after all. And that’s how things are going to be.”_

* * *

**[Arc 1: “Creative Outburst” – The End]**

**[Arc 2: “Headfirst Into Unknown Lands” – Soon]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... yeah, the end!  
At least this Arc's end, heh.
> 
> I hope the way that I wrote the chapter - ya know, changing between past and present - wasn't too confusing, and that the brief explanation of Repression's functions aren't too weird as well xD (I didn't want to give away everything about him just now, so don't worry that you guys can see more about him in the future. And yes, he's Do No Evil! I had to put this assigned to him somehow.
> 
> (Btw, any thoughts about who's the new pink side? I kinda give away who he is based on the other's recent thoughts. He's gonna be important soon...)
> 
> I was thinking about making in the future sobre spin-offs with the other sides (or maybe even with some events of the past, like Deceit's relation with the King and Logan, for example), so you can tell me if you would like to see that (and what would you like to see in a spin-off too!)
> 
> Anyway, it's time for me to get going, but I'll see you again in the next chapter! Bye-bye!


	5. Sadness has many meanings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman is still bad with this new feeling inside him.  
Meanwhile, a new guest appears in the Subconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Arc arriving!  
Boy, this was hard to write (I'm really struggling with dialogues in this fic, huh?), but I was with so many ideas around this Arc that I needed to start writing something!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> Chapter Warnings: ...None. (If I missed a warning, pls tell me)

**[Arc 2: “Headfirst Into Unknown Lands” – The Beginning]**

* * *

“Here.”

Roman looked up, seeing the glass of water in Logan’s hand. He accepted it in silence, staring at the floor with no expression.

“Roman, kiddo, you need to tell us what’s happening so we can help you. _Please?_”

He pressed his lips together, frowning. They were still outside the Mindscape, so Thomas’ eyes fixed on him wasn’t helping.

How can’t he feel the emptiness like Roman does?

“I… Don’t know. I just— Remus isn’t here.”

“Here?” He stared at Patton, motioning to his own chest, and watched as his face changed. “Oh. You—”

“Can’t feel his presence,” Thomas spoke up, voice breaking just a little bit. His eyes were unfocused, mind drifting away. “I can’t either. My mind is blank— I can’t think about anything weird or— Nothing bad—”

Logan interrupted, seeing that both Thomas and Virgil were starting to panic over the realization. “Alright, let’s continue calmly here. We need to see if anyone else saw him before jumping into conclusions.”

Roman saw Patton’s eyes widen after a moment.

“I can’t call Adrian.”

Thomas frowned. “Adrian? Who’s he?”

Virgil just motioned a 'later talk' to Thomas, that just nodded, confused.

“Why you cannot, Patton?”

“Probably he’s not personified anymore. He doesn’t like being corporeal too much,” the Anxious trait explained to Logan, stopping his phrasing to think about something before continuing, with a lower voice, “we could call Deceit. He’s always around there.”

Roman ignored the weird look at Patton's and Logan’s face, deciding to turn to Thomas instead to avoid any discussion.

“Can you call him, Thomas?”

He was probably trying to put his head into the new information because Thomas seemed startled to hear Roman’s voice after all that minutes he passed quietly. “Oh, I— Okay.”

Thomas closed his eyes, focusing, and the rest watched quietly.

When Deceit arrived, it was like the air got even heavier.

Roman was almost scared at how the deceitful side looked, because he was a complete mess — not physically, besides de dry tears and the red face, but psychologically.

He was hurt, and Roman suddenly felt awful for pressing him earlier to stay.

Deceit looked up, startled like he didn’t notice before that he was summoned. He deadpanned afterward, looking at Thomas with tired eyes.

“What do you want?” His voice was broken, and Roman almost flinched when their eyes met for a split second.

Thomas was even more concerned now. “Are you alright?”

“_Yes._ Now, what do you want?”

“I—” Thomas sighed, seeing that pressing Deceit would lead nowhere. “Have you seemed Remus?”

The deceitful side looked to the ground, and Roman shrieked when he denied with his head, making the snake-like side momentarily startled as well.

“But— He can’t be just gone—”

“Adrian probably did it— Took him to the lower Subconscious— Keeping him there.”

Patton spoke up, disbelief in his voice. “You have to be kidding. You can’t even go in there alone— Do you have any proof?”

“No, but—”

“See! He’s lying again!”

Logan adjusted his glasses. “Patton, please. Do not instigate an unnecessary fight. We need to focus here.”

“I don’t wanna fight! It’s just—” he looked away, closing his eyes, hurt. “Deceit is always the one making things worse here. What if _he_ took Remus and it’s just framing someone innocent—”

“And you are jumping to a conclusion.”

“Why are you defending him?” he accused, and Logan frowned.

“I’m not.”

“You are!” Patton crossed his arms, still not looking at them, voice now barely a whisper, “it’s just like before Roman and Remus— everything is right before he messes everything up.”

The room fell silent.

Roman looked at Deceit, who was staring at Patton blankly. He didn’t have time to say anything, because the deceitful side just sinks out without any other word.

He was too tired right now to go after him, but he wanted to. If these weird feelings weren’t there, he probably had sunk down after him.

_What was happening around here with everyone?_

“Patton, that was…” Logan trailed off.

Virgil looked up, completing the phrase. “—kinda off-character.”

Patton suddenly looked up, opening his eyes, still hurt. “Sorry, I just— I-I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s alright Patton. I think you need a break— All of us, actually.”

“Okay, hold on a sec Logan— Deceit said about the lower Subconscious. And, alright, we don’t know if he’s lying or not,” Virgil looked towards Patton before speaking again, “but he had a valid point. A Side from there can’t be sensed by us or Thomas. It’s the only explanation.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, thinking. “I assume what you are suggesting that we go there.”

“Yeah, but— We can’t go without someone that knows about the place. Too dangerous without a guide.” He stopped, looking down. “Deceit is the only of us that knows.”

Patton crossed his arms, uncomfortable. “Uh—”

“Can someone explain what’s happening?”

The Sides turned to Thomas, that was just standing there, confusion clear in his face.

“Adrian, personification, Subconscious, lower Subconscious, other sides— What’s all this?!”

Logan looked at the others, sighing. “It’s healthier to the rest of you to go have some rest. I’ll clear Thomas’ doubts about the situation.”

Virgil stepped forward, looking at the other. “Are you sure?”

The logical side nodded and gave him a reassuring look.

Virgil was the first to sink down.

Even though still worried, Patton left as well.

Roman looked at Thomas, seeing that _I’m sorry_ look in his eyes, and he sinks down afterward, going to his room.

* * *

It took some time, probably hours, but Roman was feeling a little better now. He could still feel the emptiness inside him, but it was bearable now.

He never thought he could miss Remus’ presence — it was so much a constant, the weird thoughts and ideas popping up, that having nothing felt… Wrong.

_I guess the whole “no matter what, they’re still family” is a thing now. Great._

Sighing to himself, Roman entered the Imagination from his bedroom’s backdoor, deciding to go for a walk. It helped him get his mind on track and inspired him to make new things — and the place was a nice distraction.

…Until it wasn’t.

Because, in the distance, Roman could see Remus’ old part in the Imagination — when they actually acted live brothers and had fun creating things, not worrying about what the things that Remus would create could mean.

Now, everything was becoming grey. Colorless, almost.

Dead, maybe.

He entered the place, feeling the grass break below his feet, mostly lifeless. The trees didn’t have any leaves anymore, and everything was dying or fading away.

The place was slowing disappearing.

Panic settled in Roman’s being.

Remus’ existence was in danger— Somewhere, somehow. He knew that his twin was a magnet to problems, but the fanciful sides hoped that, just once, the other would lay low in whatever situation he’s in.

Guess not.

Roman was almost leaving to warn the other when he saw color on the verge of a now shallow lake.

A figure was standing there.

* * *

You, suddenly, are standing there. Inside a room.

Your eyes roam, taking in the simple stuff there — it’s white and black and pink, in a way that showed a lack of worry with organization — like it’s your home. It feels like it, at least. There’s a mirror there, but there’s nothing as you stare at it.

But you can feel everything. The floor, the bedsheets, the cold glass.

Everything is just there, with no explanation. That counts yourself.

Getting out of the cold room, your body moves around, with no motivation behind it. Just going somewhere. There are some colorful doors as you walk by — green, yellow, orange, purple, then after a while, you can see blues and red and purple again — but you don’t knock.

Too much work doing so.

After a while, you reach a different place. More colorful, but less… real. There are a kitchen and a living room and walking around a bit more you find an open door. It’s a bedroom.

Someone is sleeping there. You can see the dry tears in the now peaceful face, and you feel worried for the person until something clicks inside you.

_That’s Thomas._

It’s somehow a weird thing, but there’s not worry anymore — but, instead, a bittersweet feeling, like everything is as it should be — and you are now smiling.

“Nice to meet you, Thomas,” you say, with no sound.

You sink down — now it’s like you know how things work. Not everything, but it’s enough — rising up inside the pink room.

Your room.

Looking at the mirror again, now you can see — and feel — yourself. The softness coming from the fabric of the pinkish polo shirt and the grey pants, the warmth from the open black cardigan – it’s a bat-styled one, and you think is quite cute.

_I’m home,_ you think, smiling.

_Thomas finally feels me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Things are happening, happening fast, and if they're bad or good, who can tell?]
> 
> Well, this was fun to write!  
I absolutely LOVE writing in the second person, so I figured out that putting this character's introduction this way would be cool (don't worry, the rest is gonna be like the rest of the work since is from Dee's and Roman's view)
> 
> Oh, and I already started the next chapter, but if it's gonna be posted soon or not depends if my brain will focus on this story or a Roceit one-shot that I wanna do into my other AU.


	6. Keep your hopes high

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman talks with the person by the river.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey-o!
> 
> this chapter is more centered into one thing happening since I want to keep thing more straight (even tho Im not) in the narrative, even tho we'll have 2 different things happening during this Arc  
also, Im working into getting better at dialogues lol
> 
> anyway, hope you guys like it!

Roman almost couldn’t see the person standing there if it wasn’t the fact that now he was a colorful point in the middle of the colorless landscape.

Walking quietly — at least the quietest he could be while stepping into dying grass — towards the lake, Roman stopped his tracks a few feet away when the other side turned around slightly. But he didn’t see him there.

The air was trapped in his lungs at the brief sight of the broken expression.

Roman wanted to run away.

Instead, he called, with a whisper — Roman had the feeling he would go away forever if he does something wrong — hoping that he could do something or say something this time.

“Deceit?”

The other side startled at his voice, turning around fully. It was like he was caught doing something horrible, but Roman guessed that he just didn’t expect anyone coming here.

Remus’ part of Imagination was something that the light sides preferred to not remember about its existence.

They stared at each other, quietly, until Deceit looked away, turning around to stare at the lake again.

“I know that it’s a stupid question, but,” he started, not sure if the deceitful side was paying attention to his words, “how– are you okay?”

He flinched at the dry laugh that he received as an answer.

Roman stepped closer, carefully, making sure that Deceit knew that he was walking. Seeing that Deceit didn’t move, Roman placed a hand in his shoulder.

It hurt him when Deceit flinched at his touch, but Roman was glad that he didn’t pull away.

“You know why this is happening.”

It wasn’t a question, and Roman pressed his lips together, looking around once more. His hand came down from Deceit’s shoulder so he could hug himself.

He actually missed the way that the place looked before. Even if he didn’t fully appreciate it, Remus’ part was a memory that Roman liked to remember.

And now it was fading away from him, and he could do nothing to stop it. Not now.

Roman sighed. “I do.”

There’s another period of silence before Deceit speaks again.

“Adrian did it. I don’t– Don’t know why or how, but– My sleep, then Remus, now he just disappears… It’s not a coincidence, and I don’t care if Morality believes or not,” Roman turned at Deceit when he pauses, seeing the way that his lips trembled slightly, “I know he did it.”

“Look, Dee,” he started, pressing his fingers on his forearms to keep himself from making wild gestures in the air, “I know you don’t, like, lie all the time but– You have to understand– It’s hard to believe you when there’s no proof. At this rate anything could have happened to Remus– Maybe the dumbass just put himself in trouble–“

“He wouldn’t go down there alone,” Deceit snapped.

“You know what I meant!” he uncrossed his arms, frustrated, sitting on the ground instead. The grass wasn’t the best to stay on, but he didn’t care. “And how do you know that he’s there?”

“Because I looked everywhere.” There’s another pause there, and Deceit’s voice came high, desperate. “I run through all the corners of that fucking place, I– Roman, he wasn’t there– I didn’t fucking do my job and now he’s– He’s–“ Roman watched the way that Deceit just gave up, letting his knees hit the grass. He still didn’t look at Roman, eyes closed. His voice came lower now. “I don’t know what happened to him.“

Deceit put his hands on his head, suddenly becoming quiet. He couldn’t see his face, but Roman knew that he wasn’t crying yet by the way his shoulders weren’t moving.

Roman considered a lot of things — between saying or doing or both. But he knew that whatever he would do next could make Deceit run away forever, locking himself from him.

He didn’t want to make it happen again.

“We’re going down there,” he finally spoke, voice with the rest of confidence that he had, “We– Logan is gonna talk with Thomas about it, then–“ He pressed his lips together before continuing, “Then you have to lead us there. Show us the way. And we’re going to bring Remus from whatever fucked up situation he’s in.”

Roman contemplate his words. He had missed this sudden and sincere confidence of his – he was still confident, but it wasn’t the same.

He misses feeling like he felt as a kid.

“Remus is fucked up by nature,” Deceit’s voice was low, but Roman smiled at the commentary.

“Well, better being fucked up here than down there.”

Deceit let up a small laugh, and Roman felt relief at the sound. The deceitful side wasn’t someone that laughed a lot, so every time was a victory.

“What about the others? Virgil and Patton clearly love me.”

“They’ll have to live with it. I’m going with you to save my brother, if they wanna help, sure. If they don’t, I don’t care.”

He _did_ care, but that wasn’t the point right now.

“I didn’t say I was going,” Deceit pointed out, “I never been there.”

Something stopped working inside his brain, and Roman could almost hear it.

“Wait– But Virgil said–“

“I don’t have knowledge about the place. It’s not my job keeping what’s down there hidden from Thomas,” it’s _Adrian’s job too_, Roman thought, deciding to not comment at Deceit’s word choice or the lies, “I can keep us alive. Finding Remus– I don’t know.”

“We can at least try. If it doesn’t work, we go home. We’ll think about something else, make a new plan– Whatever works. I just–”

Now it’s Roman’s turn to not look at the other. He looks at his hands, trying to find something there. Maybe answers.

Maybe just peace.

“I should have fought for him. He’s my brother and I just– I kept my head down since the split, thinking that it was better if I just went along. I was afraid of another bad thing happening to me. Now– I can’t let a bad thing happen to him either.”

Silence.

Then, a hand in his forearm.

He looked up, seeing Deceit looking at him with an expression that Roman couldn’t tell what it meant.

“Tell the others that we’re going tomorrow.”

“Wait– Seriously?”

Deceit just nodded, getting up from the ground, cleaning his clothes with a snap of fingers. A moment, and it looked like that Deceit from moments ago didn’t exist. The same neutral expression that he always carried was back, and there were no tears anymore. No red face.

Roman wished he could do the same during his hard times.

“I’ll let Logic know if something is needed before the travel. Then, we meet at the Gates. Virgil knows where.”

Deceit starts to walk away.

“Wait, Deceit–“ he presses his lips together once more, seeing the deceitful side turn to look down at him, “just– Thank you.”

There’s another unknown expression on Deceit’s face before he just turns around and walks away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, I wanna say that this month there's just too much homework for me to do, so the next chapter will take a little longer to be posted (I want it to be a big one as well), so I'm sorry for letting you guys wait too much!  
I hope I can have a good amount of free time soon to continue this story
> 
> also, I'm thinking already about my next long-chaptered story (since I already know the ending of this one), but I'll just start writing it when this story is over  
but I'm already gonna start setting the characters and plot points (It's probably gonna be a Steampunk setting, with Roceit, Moxiety and Intrulogical - or maybe Roceit and Intrulogical only - and Roman-centric)   
I just wanna say that I'm hyped for this fics, heh
> 
> anyway, gotta go, so I'll see you in the next chapter!


	7. Just like horror movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time comes, and the sides head towards their objective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't supposed to post anything this early, but the inspiration came to me and I couldn't say no, hehe  
At least I'm still able to keep a fair amount of time between each chapter even with school happening, so that's a win!  
(I'm also being able to start making my next story - a Roceit Human!Steampunk!AU - so I'll able to start writing it when this one reaches an end)
> 
> And I just wanna say that the story reached +400 hits and almost 50 kudos and I'm just??? Wanting to scream???  
Seriously guys, thank you! I'm having a lot of fun with this and I'm happy y'all are liking it too! Even though sometimes I'm not directly answering some comments (I'm a shy person I dunno what to answer ,_,), just wanna let you know that I'm reading it and I'm SO thankful for all the support so far. So, again, thank you <3
> 
> Anyway, I'll stop stalling now, hope y'all enjoy the new chapter ^^
> 
> [Chapter Warning: mental hospital building's parallels.]

“This is a mistake.”

“If you say that one more time, I’ll fight you. Physically.”

“What, don’t wanna hear the truth, Roman? Cause here’s what’s gonna happen: Deceit is gonna trick us down there, let us die and take over Thomas’ mind with his ‘friends’. Then I’m gonna say that I warned you.”

Roman rolled his eyes, deciding to not start a fight with Virgil.

Maybe he shouldn’t let the others come with him. Maybe he should have asked Logan to tell the others that he was going to be off fixing the Imagination– or something like that.

But now he is here, together with the other three, walking to Deceit’s meeting point, while they’re all complaining about the plan – the plan that they accepted.

How wonderful.

Virgil crossed his arms when they reached a giant black gate with double doors, huffing. “He’s not even here.”

“Oh, I did not know you were becoming so blind, Virgil. Maybe you should wear glasses from now on.”

Roman turned around, seeing Deceit walking towards them, a black cane with a golden snake carved on top of it.

He bit off a smile at the sigh of the deceitful side.

“Shut up, asshole,” Virgil snapped, looking apologetically to Patton for a second.

Deceit smirked. “How polite.”

“So, anything we should know before going down there?”

Roman was glad the Patton was trying to change the subject to avoid a new problem – they didn’t have much time anyway.

Deceit sighed, pulling out a silver key and going to the gates. “Keep your eyes open for everything that can be a possible threat. Even shadows can be something else there.”

A loud click was heard, and the engine could be heard working on the inside. Roman was impressed by the engineering of it, and he kept himself from commenting on how Logan’s eyes were shining.

“Down there is where we keep the most reclused parts of Thomas’ personality. Everything that he ever felt or desired formed _something_, and even though he’s not the same from the time these fragments of personality were formed, it didn’t make them cease to exist.” The deceitful side pushed the right side of the gate open, and Roman felt a shiver down his spine that the sight of the long and dark staircase in front of them. “The only good thing is that they cannot keep corporeal for too long, so we have an advantage on that.”

Patton made a noise, uncomfortable. “What kind of things you are talking about?”

Deceit didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he looked at Patton, giving him a twisted smile. “Time to find out what your perfect little Thomas hides deep down his _so pure _soul. I’m sure you’ll _love_ what you’ll find.”

The deceitful side laughed at the terrified face that Patton made.

“Fuck you Deceit!” Virgil snapped like he could change something about this whole thing.

(Spoiler alert: He couldn’t.)

Logan sighed, “Let’s just… Go.”

One by one, they passed the black gates. Roman created a bunch of flashlights for each of them to help with the darkness – with exception of the deceitful side, that claimed to be able to see in the dark.

Deceit was the last one since he had to close the gates again, and Roman noticed the change when he catches up with the group – the deceitful side’s face was paler, and the prince could see the grip on the cane being tighter.

“Dee,” he whispered, putting a free hand on Deceit’s arm, “something happened?”

Roman repaired Deceit’s grip on the cane loosening a bit and their eyes met for a second. “It’s fine.”

“You sure?”

Deceit pressed his lips together, looking at the others. They had slowed their pace a little bit to gain some distance. “I– Just worried. About this– Self-preservation stuff.”

Roman raised an eyebrow, suspicious, but decided to not push the subject further. “Right. But if something is wrong, let me know– let _us_ know. You are our guide here Dee,” he sighed, letting go of Deceit’s arm, “prove them that you’re not just another monster inside Thomas’ head. Prove to _me_ that I’m not making a mistake trusting you.”

The other didn’t answer them, but Roman had the feeling that Deceit got the message just right.

* * *

If Thomas’ mind made the Conscious and slight Subconscious parts of his mind look like a mansion, it made the lowest parts Subconscious look like a mental hospital – the ones that you see in horror stories.

Roman didn’t want to know if the things covering the long hallways’ walls and floor were just dust or _something_ else.

_Is Remus really down here? In this place?_

The only sound that they were hearing so far was their own footsteps, followed by occasional wood cracking and old plumbing. They were silent, maybe afraid of awaking something laying in the shadows of that place.

Deceit had taken the front of the group, followed by Logan, and Roman sometimes looked over his shoulder, wanting to check if Virgil and Patton were alright.

(Also wanting to not look at the proximity that the logical and the deceitful side had while walking, but that he would never admit.)

The place felt like a maze, and Roman was starting to think that they were walking in circles when they reached a different place.

It was like an abandoned version of Thomas’ living room mixed with the same mental hospital-style from the hallways. The places where it was supposed to be the stairs and the window, two long corridors were replacing it.

Everything was still too dark.

Virgil was the one to break the silence, his whispering almost sounding like a shout compared with the silence from before. “Where are we?”

“The beginning of the lower part of Thomas’ subconscious mind,” Deceit said briefly before stopping his walk completely, making the others follow the motion, “this is the safest place we’ll find down here.”

Logan adjusted his glasses. “We must make it a future assembling point, then.”

Roman made a confused face.

“Future assembling point?”

Logan nodded. “Even though being assembled can assist if a treat appears, the chances of encountering Remus in this place increase if we split into two groups – each one following one of the corridors.”

“We are really in a Scooby-Doo episode,” the Prince commented, his tone not so jokingly as he wanted.

Virgil made a noise, and Roman was expecting him to complain about it when he spoke up, “look, you’re right but– fuck– I’m not leaving Patton’s side in this shithole.”

The logical side nodded, and Roman knew what he was asking from when Logan looked at him.

It was like the heavy feeling in his room, with Deceit’s body beside them, was back.

“I– It’s better if you go with them, specs.”

“Are you sure?”

Roman nodded. “Yeah. If shit happens you can reassure them better than I do.”

“We could just let Deceit go alone. This is probably his fault anyway,” Virgil whispered, looking away.

Roman saw a glimpse of hurt passing through Deceit’s eyes.

Logan looked at the deceitful side, that just shrugged at him. “Then it’s decided. I would recommend you create something that he could communicate here, Roman.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

A snap of fingers and all of them had a walkie-talkie in their free hands – and in their respective colors. It was configurated with their symbols instead of numbers, so it was easier to know who to talk, and it also had an open channel where they could communicate together.

Roman looked at them, fidgeting with his new device. “So… Split now, shall we?”

They started to head to their assigned corridors – Roman and Deceit would go to the one replacing the stairs, and the rest would go to the other one – when Virgil gripped Roman’s arm.

“What?”

“I know I can sound… _paranoid_ sometimes,” he started, looking like the word burned in his tongue, “but please, be careful alright? Deceit would let you die if that meant his own survival. So– Just promise me that you’ll be careful.”

Roman looked at Virgil’s worried face, sighing. “Alright storm cloud. I promise.”

The anxious side let go of him, calmer. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And be careful you guys too.”

Virgil nodded, joining Patton and Logan again, the three of them disappearing down the hallway.

Roman turned around, seeing Deceit with his back against the other hallway’s wall, tapping the snake on top of his cane. He walked towards him, making the deceitful side snapped his head up at him, expressionless.

“Ready to go?”

“Always,” Roman lied.

They started their walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now the fun will finally begin! We'll see soon with what type of problems Deceit and Repression have to deal with :)  
Also, the dark vision part is another headcanon of mine: all the dark sides have it since they spent a lot of time in this dark place (Virgil included, but he likes the security of having a flashlight)
> 
> I still don't know if I'll show Patton, Virgil and Logan's side journey into the Subconscious but don't worry, they'll still be around the story through the walkie-talkies!  
(Fun fact: My initial idea was to make Logan go with Roman and Dee, but I realized that letting Virgil and Patton alone would no be so good for them, and that's were Roman's dialogue with Logan came from!)
> 
> Anyway, time for me to go, but I'll see y'all in the next chapter! See ya!


End file.
